After Siddhārtha Gautama gained enlightenment and became the Buddha, he traveled for miles from Bodh Gaya where he attained this enlightenment to distant lands to spread the principles of what would become Buddhism.
Sometime later Ashoka the Great ascended the throne of the Mauryan empire and as he sought to increase the empire, went to battle against Kalinga. The battle was so bloody that when Ashoka saw it, he swore never to use violence to capture more land.
He then began to follow the pacifist ideals of Buddhism and in spreading the religion, built Buddhist schools and temples around India.
